Russell Slade insists Leyton Orient’s hopes of reaching Wembley are far from over despite suffering a 1-0 defeat to Southend United in their Johnstone's Paint Trophy southern area final first leg.

The O’s were hoping to take a lead to Roots Hall in a fortnight but will have to win at their rivals to have any chance of a first trip to Wembley for 14 years. However, Slade still has every faith in his players’ ability to turn the two-legged tie around and secure a place in the competition final.

The O's boss said: “For sure there will be expectation on them [Southend]. We’re now the underdogs and they’ve got an advantage. They’re now at home so I would think they think the job’s mainly done but I think it’s far from over. There is a lot of football still left.

“We’ll do everything in our power and throw everything at them to get the right result. If they think it’s over, they’re mistaken.

“We’ll have to go there and we’re still well in the game even if we’re trailing by that one goal with 15 minutes to go.

“You’ve seen that we’ve still created chances in the later stages of the game. If you can stay in the game then anything can happen so we’ll try and take it to the wire for sure.”